


we swore we knew the future

by albion



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Boys Being Boys, Canon Compliant, Gen, Idiots in Love, M/M, Miscommunication, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-18
Updated: 2013-11-18
Packaged: 2018-01-02 00:37:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1050448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/albion/pseuds/albion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean rolls his eyes dramatically and turns back to his dinner. If Eren’s going to be moody and unsociable to everyone, then let him.</p><p>Eren’s behaviour shouldn’t bother him at all.</p><p>(but it does)</p>
            </blockquote>





	we swore we knew the future

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt: _Jean is dating someone else and eren is really mad but doesnt know why???_  
>  _So he keeps beating up jean just to touch him because he’s so Wildly Desperate for Jean but he cant have him l o l_
> 
> i don't know if i really answered the prompt but oh well here have teenage boys being dumbs

“For the last goddamn time, Eren, _what is your problem?”_

Eren looks down at his feet like a petulant child, and Jean really can’t work out what’s going on with him because Eren sure does act like a child, yes, but it only seems to be around _him_ and it’s sure as hell pissing him off.

He’d been minding his own business, fiddling around with a twisted strap on his gear, when Eren had appeared out of nowhere and started a fight. Fighting with Eren isn’t anything new, but this time it seemed less of Eren wanting a sparring match and more of Eren attempting to just punch the living daylights out of him.

“Nothing,” Eren grumbles, and turns to leave.

Jean catches his arm before he can go, and pulls him in closer. “Are you okay? We’re friends... right? You can tell me if something’s going on with you.”

Eren gives him a look that Jean can’t quite decipher, and then yanks his arm roughly out of Jean’s grip. “There’s nothing wrong with me, _fuckface._ ”

And Jean, completely tired and completely pissed off with Eren’s childish behaviour, throws a punch.

Eren ducks swiftly and brings his right fist up to clip Jean’s jaw, and Jean staggers back, rubbing at the sore spot.

“My _god_ Eren,” he says, moving his tongue around in his mouth to check for any loose teeth. “I don’t know what’s up with you, but keep the hell away from me if you’re just going to be violent every time I try and offer you help.”

Jean turns and walks away, and Eren watches him.

He doesn’t know why he feels like this.

All he wants is Jean’s company.

So why does he always end up fighting with him instead?

.

Jean flops himself down on the bench in the mess hall, and smiles as Marco shifts slightly to give him more room.

“Hey Marco,” he greets, “how was your day?”

“Pretty good,” Marco replies. “Did some one-on-one sparring with Krista. She’s incredibly light on her feet. Knocked me over a good few times.” He laughs, revealing white teeth and Jean grins too.

“You gotta be careful of those small ones,” he replies, laughing. “Just look at Annie.”

He searches around the room, looking for Annie to make sure she didn’t hear his previous comment, and his gaze falls on Eren instead, sitting and glaring down at his bowl of soup and bread. Armin’s attempting to make conversation and Mikasa’s eating quietly, giving Eren concerned looks.

Jean rolls his eyes dramatically and turns back to his dinner. If Eren’s going to be moody and unsociable to everyone, then let him.

Eren’s behaviour shouldn’t bother him at all.

.

But it does, and as Jean lies awake in his bunk that night, hearing the sounds of everyone else’s quiet breaths and Reiner’s low snoring, he lets out a low huff and swings his legs out from under the thin, scratchy covers.

He drops lightly to the floor, making sure to avoid Bertholdt’s long, flailing limbs and the pile of shoes that lay at the foot of everyone’s bunks, and creeps outside.

The moon is full and huge overhead, hanging heavily in the sky, and Jean finds himself walking over to the water pump. Splashing his face and rubbing at his slightly tired eyes, he looks up to see Eren, standing against the wall of the girl’s barracks, clad in his sleep clothes. They’ve always been too big on him and the pants are halfway to falling off his hips, but Jean can’t make any remark because his own sleep clothes are just as ridiculous.

Eren scratches at his side absently, and Jean looks up at him, running a wet hand through his hair.

“What the hell are you doing up, Eren?”

Eren shrugs. “Dunno.”

“Right. Well, I’m going back to bed. Goodnight.”

He moves to pass beside Eren, but suddenly Eren’s leg is moving to catch him around the ankles and Jean goes down heavily with a thump and a curse. His mouth opens to let out an obscene comment, but then Eren’s hauling him up by the sleeves and swinging his fist out.

Jean’s not about to let himself get beaten up at 3am for no good reason by _Eren Jaeger_ , and so he swings his own hand out and grabs Eren’s punch. Eren’s eyes look red rimmed, and the thought suddenly occurs to Jean that maybe he just wants a good spar to vent out all of his frustration.

Jean would like to consider him and Eren friends, but he’s not Eren’s punching bag. He shoves Eren back and turns to leave.

“Please don’t go,” Eren calls, and of all things, his voice sounds _needy._

Jean turns back. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t. I asked you what was wrong earlier; all you did was strike out at me. Now you effectively ambush me in the middle of the night and do the exact same fucking thing again, and you’ve given me absolutely no context for anything. I’d say you just want a friendly spar but that’s obviously not it at all, since you haven’t even asked me if I want to, you fuck. So I’m going to have to settle with the idea that you’re actually trying to assassinate me, and I’m sure as hell not up for that at this time of the morning. Goodnight Eren.”

“That’s not it!” Eren yells back, and Jean opens his mouth to tell Eren to shut up and be quiet before he wakes up everyone else, when Eren continues, “I just want…” He trails off.

Jean frowns. “What? You want what?”

“To talk to you,” Eren finishes lamely.

Jean looks at him, before sticking his hands on his hips and letting out a breath. “Wow. Really. You know Eren, you’re such a weird mix of emotions, I can’t even be bothered to try and understand you anymore.”

“Just hear me out,” Eren replies. “You… are you and-”

“Who?”

“You and Marco?”

“What about us?”

“Are you a thing?” Eren blurts out, and Jean doesn’t quite know what to say.

“Uh _… no,_ and even if we were, why the _hell_ does it matter to you?”

Eren’s feet move and he starts crossing the short expanse of grass that separate them. Jean shifts backward instinctively into a defensive position, but then he’s acutely aware of the sound of Eren slipping on the mud surrounding the well. Jean watches, completely perplexed, as Eren goes down, almost comically. Then he hears the solid bang of Eren’s head whacking against the metal, and it’s not so funny anymore.

He runs over without even thinking about it and grabs the back of Eren’s head. He can’t feel any blood, but then Eren’s scowling and rubbing at his temple and swearing.

“Please,” Jean starts. “Please go back to bed before you _actually_ kill yourself.”

“Oh why would you care,” Eren huffs, pulling away from Jean’s grip, and suddenly Jean _gets it._

“You think I don’t care about you? Is this why you’ve been fighting with me? You think _that_ would get you my attention?”

Eren pouts and looks away.

“Oh great Sina, you’re such a dummy. Of course I fucking care about you. We’re all trainees together, and I might not like it but we may have to fight together some day so-”

Eren cuts Jean off and pulls him down for a hug. Jean opens his mouth in surprise, knees hitting the mud and his balance failing, but suddenly Eren’s shirt is pressed up against his face and all he can smell is Eren. He smells faintly of vegetable soup and soap and sweat all mixed together, and if he’s being completely honest with himself, it’s not a bad smell either.

“I’m sorry,” Eren is saying, and his voice sounds small. “I’m sorry for hitting you and not talking and generally being an ass and I just…” he sighs deeply.

“Please go to bed,” Jean says. “You’re tired and possibly concussed.”

Eren shifts and nods, and Jean helps him up. They’re both covered in mud and slightly bruised.

Jean takes hold of Eren’s shoulder and leads them off to the boy’s barracks, and as Jean helps him up the ladder and into bed Eren starts feeling the impact of his head’s encounter with the metal pipe. He clutches at his hair and groans softly.

“Do you want me to stay here?” Jean asks, and his voice betrays his concern.

“Nah, I’ll be alright,” Eren forces out. “My head’s killing me though.”

“I’d say I’m surprised, but I’m really not.”

“Oh shut up,” Eren whispers, “I’ll be fine. Except… if I don’t wake up tomorrow morning, don’t tell anyone how I died. Tell Armin you think it was a blood clot.”

“Don’t worry Eren,” Jean grins from the bottom of the bunk. “I won’t let the entire training squad know of your shocking idiocy in _walking across grass._ ”

Eren flips him off, and Jean turns back to his own bed with a quiet laugh.

“Night Jean.”

“Go the hell to bed, Eren.”

 


End file.
